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The Australian Defence Force, together with military forces from a number of western democracies, have for some years been seeking out and killing Islamic militants in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, detaining asylum seekers for periods at sea or running the judicial systems of failed states. It has also been ready to conduct internal security operations at home. The domestic legal authority cited for this is often the poorly understood concept of executive power, which is power that derives from executive and not parliamentary authority. In an age of legality where parliamentary statutes govern action by public officials in the finest detail, it is striking that these extreme exercises of the use of force often rely upon an elusive legal basis. This book seeks to find the limits to the exercise of this extraordinary power.

In one of the great contests between State and federal power, the Tasmanian Dam Case pitted the immovable object of Tasmania’s commitment to a massive hydro-electric project against the irresistible force of the Commonwealth’s determination to protect the environment.

Who would prevail? Was it more important to create jobs and provide cheap power, or to preserve the natural beauty of the Tasmanian wilderness? On whom did the Australian Constitution confer the power to decide this question?

By the narrowest of majorities, the High Court decided in 1983 that the Commonwealth had the final say, and upheld legislation that prohibited the construction of a dam on the Gordon River below the Franklin.

Because of the passions aroused by the case, the Court took the unprecedented step of issuing a statement explaining that its job was not to decide whether the proposed dam was a good idea or not, but to determine whether this was a matter of State or federal power. Yet this issue was just as hotly contested. Could any subject be brought within federal power merely by the presence of an international treaty on that subject? Would affirming this proposition destroy the intended balance between State and federal power? Would denying the proposition disable Australia from full participation in international affairs?

Three decades after the High Court’s decision, these and other questions of law and policy remain of vital importance. This book brings together a fascinating collection of commentaries on the impact of the decision, and how the hopes and fears following the decision have played out.

This stimulating and timely book contains reflections from then Commonwealth Attorney-General Gareth Evans, then High Court Justice Sir Anthony Mason and leading Indigenous lawyer Professor Mick Dodson. The book also examines some novel questions, such as whether the outcome of the case was inevitable, how similar issues have played out in Canada, and whether better conservation outcomes are more likely to come from the Commonwealth or the States. These and other chapters offer fresh perspectives on one of the most important cases in High Court history.

This book considers the concepts underlying our Constitution and explores constitutional decision-making in context. It reviews all of the important constitutional decisions of the High Court of Australia, and exposes the issues that arise in those decisions to a critical analysis. The book covers all major areas of study in both constitutional law and public law.

Updates for this edition include the two Williams cases in which the High Court reworked the executive power of the Commonwealth to contract and spend; recent cases developing the Kable principles and considering the validity of State laws against Chapter III implications; important recent cases on the implied freedom of political communication; recent cases on s 92 of the Constitution dealing with internet trade and commerce.

This book comprehensively describes Australia’s unique pattern of constitutional government. Jack Richardson was always convinced that the legal basis of federal government and the evolving patterns of power should be understandable — not just to experts in constitutional law, but to people in all walks of life. He believed that knowledge of the principles by which we are governed must be available to the general public, and to participants in the federal system. The author advances expert knowledge by divining those principles. By describing their operation in words intelligible to readers who are not legally qualified, he achieves his aim of acquainting a much wider range of people with the powers that rule them.

The result is a book that will be a great help to students and scholars of law, government, politics and history, as well as a useful guide for administrators, journalists, politicians and legal practitioners. Anyone who needs a straightforward explanation of an element of constitutional government will value the understanding they can easily get from the book.

Citizenship is the pivotal legal status in any nation-state. In Australia, the democratic, social and political framework, and its identity as a nation, is shaped by the notion of citizenship. Australian Citizenship Law sheds light on citizenship law and practice and provides the most up-to-date analysis available of the Australian Citizenship Act 2007 (Cth).

Rubenstein’s Australian Citizenship Law is the much-awaited second edition to her highly acclaimed text. It has been cited in High Court decisions, referred to in national and international academic work and used extensively by practitioners working in citizenship law, migration law, constitutional and administrative law and is an essential resource for migration agents.

Moreover, because of its broader analysis, it is crucially relevant to any discipline associated with citizenship, including, history, politics, education or sociology, and to government officials working in the area of citizenship, especially those working in our embassies and consulates.

Former Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryas tenure, from 2005 to 2013, has been characterized by remarkable developments in constitutional politics and the jurisprudence of the apex court. This was also a period of great controversy and the actions of the Chaudhry Court polarized the debate on the role of the Supreme Court. Despite the emergence of such vociferous debate, a detailed scrutiny of the Chaudhry Courtas actions has thus far been lacking. This volume represents an attempt to fill this gap by closely analysing the jurisprudence of the Supreme Court and reflects on the likely legacy of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhryas tenure. The contributions also constitute an effort at deepening the debate that has surrounded the courtas actions during the last few years. It goes beyond the critique of the court on the grounds that it has acted politically and violated the constitutionally mandated separation of powers between the judiciary, the legislature, and the elected executive.

It has been seven years since the last edition of Professor Zines’s classic book, The High Court and the Constitution. In that time the High Court has handed down a range of important decisions transforming, extending and developing existing constitutional law principles. In this 6th edition of the book, by Dr James Stellios, analyses and critiques the High Court’s jurisprudence over that period. Changes have been made to all chapters to update the existing law. The most significant updates relate to: the reformulation of the Commonwealth’s executive power to contract and spend following the High Court’s decisions in Pape and the two Williams cases; the High Court’s continuing development of Chapter III principles, particularly its renewed interest in the Kable limitation on State Parliaments; the uncertainties appearing in recent High Court cases on the implied freedom of political communication; and the High Court’s application of s 92 to national markets in the internet-based new economy.

Law and Democracy: Contemporary Questions provides a fresh understanding of law’s regulation of Australian democracy. The book enriches public law scholarship, deepening and challenging the current conceptions of law’s regulation of popular participation and legal representation. The book raises and addresses a number of contemporary questions about legal institutions, principles and practices. Examining the regulation of democracy, this book scrutinises the assumptions and scope of constitutional democracy and enhances our understanding of the frontiers of accountability and responsible government. In addition, key issues of law, culture and democracy are revealed in their socio-legal context.The book brings together emerging and established scholars and practitioners with expertise in public law. It will be of interest to those studying law, politics, cultural studies and contemporary history.

Hanks Australian Constitutional Law - Materials & Commentary is the authoritative casebook for the study of constitutional law. This book considers the concepts underlying our Constitution and explores constitutional decision-making in context. The title reviews all of the important constitutional decisions of the High Court of Australia, and exposes the issues that arise in those decisions to a critical analysis. Improvements for this edition include an integrated chapter on judicial power (Ch 9), separate consideration of s 92 (Ch 11), strengthening the public law focus of chapter 1, and reintroducing a detailed table of contents. New to this edition are reference of state powers to the Commonwealth and intergovernmental co-operation (Ch 1 and 5), national security and defence (Ch 3), and a complete re-write of chapter 8, 'The Executive'.

Written by highly qualified authors, the direct, clear and often humorous style of this book will help readers understand how the law relates to real issues and controversies. The institutions and sources of law in our legal system are clearly explained, including the roles of lawyers, the courts and the legislature. Illustrative examples and a discussion of actual cases enable students and other citizens to engage with topics such as historical basis of Australian law, Australian law and international law, human rights, procedural fairness and the notions of law and morality. New stimulus questions and activities included in this 8th edition invite the reader to consider the interrelationship of law, tradition and social values. Understanding Law is a perfect introduction to the law for students engaging with legal studies and for other academic disciplines at tertiary and senior secondary levels. It is an ideal starting point for any Australian interested in learning more about their legal system.

Kangaroo Courts and the Rule of Law -The Legacy of Modernism addresses the legacy of contemporary critiques of language for the concept of the rule of law. Between those who care about the rule of law and those who are interested in contemporary legal theory, there has been a dialogue of the deaf, which cannot continue. Starting from the position that contemporary critiques of linguistic meaning and legal certainty are too important to be dismissed, Desmond Manderson takes up the political and intellectual challenge they pose. Can the rule of law be re-configured in light of the critical turn of the past several years in legal theory, rather than being steadfastly opposed to it? Pursuing a reflection upon the relationship between law and the humanities, the book stages an encounter between the influential theoretical work of Jacques Derrida and MIkhail Bakhtin, and D.H. Lawrence's strange and misunderstood novel Kangaroo (1923).

This new edition of Delegated Legislation in Australia deals in detail with the important topic of delegated or subordinate legislation. Legislation made by various government and other bodies under the authority of an Act of Parliament exceeds in volume the legislation made by Parliaments in the form of Acts. This book is an essential guide for legislators, public officials at all levels of government, judicial officers and lawyers.

This fourth edition of Law in Context not only updates the text by reference to the latest thinking and developments in the broad area of ‘law in context’, but also introduces readers to the wider social, political and regulatory contexts of law. Bottomley and Bronitt, as in previous editions, expose readers to the multitude of contexts (some explicit, others implicit) that affect how law is made, broken and enforced by the state or individual citizens. The fundamental ideals of law – such as the Rule of Law – rest on cherished liberal values, though the authors constantly encourage readers not to accept uncritically the rhetoric of law, but to test these assumptions through empirical eyes.

Statutory Interpretation in Australia is a comprehensive, annotated, synopsis of statutory interpretation principles in all the Australian jurisdictions. This seventh edition is an update to 1 February 2011. The work is a detailed reference as to a multiplicity of statutory interpretation issues. This well-researched, new edition includes recent updates of case law and legislation, commentary on the “principle of equity”, and a discussion of the Human Rights Acts of Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory. This text is a remarkably inclusive guide to statutory interpretation and is divided into 12 chapters. These chapters include examination of different approaches to legislative interpretation, extrinsic and intrinsic aids to interpretation, and individual consideration for interpreting current acts, repealed or amending acts and codifying acts respectively. The book concludes by considering legislation operating retrospectively and various drafting conventions and expressions.

A unique and accessible introduction to the federal judicial system established by Chapter III of the Constitution – the chapter at the centre of the constitutional structures of government in Australia. Its provisions create the federal judicature and define the way in which it operates. Its interpretation has had a pivotal role in the design and operation of all institutions of government at the Federal, State and Territory levels. However, despite its central place in Australia's constitutional framework, Chapter III is not widely understood. This book is designed as an introduction to this important part of the Constitution.

Cultural Difference on Trial: The Nature and Limits of Judicial Understanding comprises a sustained philosophical exploration of the capacity of the modern liberal democratic legal system to understand the thought and practice of those culturally different minorities who come before it as claimants, defendants or witnesses. Exploring this issue from within the tradition of contemporary analytical and naturalistic philosophy and drawing upon recent developments in the philosophy of mind and language, this volume is informed by a sound academic and practical grasp of the workings of the legal system itself. Systematically analysing the nature and limits of a judge's ability to understand culturally different thought and action over the course of a trial, this volume is essential reading for anyone interested in the workings of the modern legal system.